


i will never stop marching

by sailingthecs



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Definitely written as Eddie gets his poop in a group after the tsunami, Episode: s0303 The Searchers, Family Feels, Gen, Happy Ending, I guess could be platonic?, POV Outsider, Pre-Slash, Then its my own little headcanon, Tsunami Typical Violence, but to each his own, definitely not too bad though, until the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-07 22:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20983772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailingthecs/pseuds/sailingthecs
Summary: Gabriela will do whatever it takes to make sure Christopher finds his Buck again.(The story of the woman who carried Christopher for as long as it took.)





	i will never stop marching

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever? So whatever happens I hope it's not terrible! Thanks 9-1-1 for the creative spark :)
> 
> Tsunami violence tagged is very, very light. It's like one mention of a dead body - but I didn't want to catch anyone unaware!  
According to IMDB, the woman who helped Christopher is named Gabriela. I'm a sucker for Outsider POV, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and write this. <3
> 
> Title from Rescue by Lauren Daigle

Gabriela sees the boy when the receding tide is starting to pick up its pace. She’s managed to tuck herself under the entryway of a grocery store, holding onto a bike rack to keep from floating away. She’s just trying to stay in place, sharing the bike rack with a man and a teenager, when the boy is literally swept into her. He’s soaking wet, and desperately thrashing his arms to keep his head above the water. She doesn’t even think, she just lets go of the bike rack to grab him. Luckily, the other man grabs the sleeve of her red hoodie when she lets go, and between the two of them they manage to keep the young boy from floating back into the current.   
The little boy, whose curls are plastered wetly to his head, just grabs her hoodie with little white fists, and pants for a minute. He can’t be more than eight years old, and her heart immediately pounds, thinking of him alone in this water. After a little while, he peers up at her and judging by the way he squints, she thinks he must have lost his glasses somewhere along the way. Suddenly he throws his head back and yells to the flooded street.  
“Buck! Buck! I’m here!”  
The four of them listen to the rushing water for a moment but there’s no answer. The little boy doesn’t seem discouraged though, and looks back at her with a smile.  
Haltingly, he tells her, “My Buck will be here soon. He’s the best firefighter ever.” He reminds her of her sister’s son, with his sweet smile and trusting eyes. She hopes someone does come for him soon, but she can’t just let him go out there alone.  
She smiles at him. “I’m sure he will. For now though, why don’t you stay with me? I’m Gabriela.”  
“I’m Christopher. Buck will bring his firetruck and rescue us!”  
She’s trying not to laugh at Christopher’s enthusiasm. Even soaked and separated from his dad, he’s not at all scared now that he’s out of the current and has caught his breath. She doesn’t know this little boy, but she does know that there’s no way she’s going to leave him alone. Whatever it takes, she’s determined to get him back to this Buck.

It takes hours for the water to recede enough for them to feel comfortable to leave the bike rack they’ve been clinging to. Gabriela is holding onto the bike rack with her arms around Christopher, keeping her body between him and the current and squishing him against the bike rack. Hector, the man with them, and his son Alex, sit quietly on the other side of the rack, not talking. Gabriela heard them yelling before for a Liza, and she hopes for their sake that she’s okay. Right now, there’s nothing to do but wait.  
That’s not quite true though. Now that he’s safe, Christopher has been telling Gabriela all about the day he and Buck had at the pier. The only time he gets even a little sad is when he’s describing the bear that they won together that got swept away by the wave. But then he brightens up again, telling her all about their amazing game of eye-spy they were playing on top of the firetruck. The picture he paints of Buck makes her heart melt. It’s obvious those two love each other, and she thinks with all her heart that Buck had better be okay so that he can see Christopher again.  
Gabriela and Hector don’t discuss it but eventually the water is low enough that they make the unspoken decision that it’s safe to leave the alcove. It’s taken so long that the sun has set, and the cool water has been getting colder. As night had fallen, Christopher had gotten quieter and began to hide his head in the crook of her shoulder. Worried about him, Gabriela wrapped her sweatshirt around him. The hood was adorably large on him, and the smile he gave her reassured her, although he didn’t say anything. The water is about knee deep right now, but she doesn’t want to stay here with Christopher shivering if she didn’t have to, and Hector seemed to agree. The driest path seems to lead away from the small grocery story, and into a block of apartments. She can’t believe how far inland she got swept, even though she wasn’t close to the pier, and she’s almost glad she decided against asking her sister if she wanted to walk with her. She hopes Maria isn’t worrying too much and tries not to think about it.  
Eventually, she begins to see red and blue lights flashing off the wet sidewalk. She’s so focused on carrying Christopher that she almost doesn’t realize what they mean. She’s slightly concerned because he seems to have slipped into a daze, not moving much, although she can feel his warm breath on her neck. But suddenly it dawns on her that those lights mean police cars, and police cars could mean firefighters. At the very least someone could help her find Buck.  
Hector catches the attention of an officer first. He grabs the officer’s arm, desperately asking her to help him find his wife. Gabriela is more concerned with Christopher, who has been silent for long enough that she focuses on his breaths, coming in and out with a calming regularity. Another officer, obviously higher ranking, comes over and tells Hector that they should head towards the VA hospital before Gabriela can ask for Buck. She’d been hoping to find someone who could help them here, but at least they’re pointed in the right direction now. She can’t help but thank the kind officer, who has the kind of face that Gabriela instinctively trusts. She seems strict but kind, and Gabriela appreciates that. As she turned away, she hoisted Christopher higher.  
After a few blocks, Christopher stirred.  
“’Thena? Sergeant ‘thena?” he asked in a sleepy voice.  
“Do you hear somebody you know, Christopher?” Gabriela asked. “Someone who knows your dad?”  
He glanced around slowly. “I thought I did, but I don’t see her.”  
Gabriela looked around as well, seeing the wreckage the tsunami had brought. She’d forgotten that he didn’t have his glasses, and it was probably for the best. The less he could see, the fewer nightmares he would have. Tucking Christopher’s head back into the crook of her neck, she envied his ability to fall asleep. She was exhausted, she couldn’t lie, but how could she stop now? And beyond that, she thought that if she closed her eyes, all she would see was the bloated faces of the unlucky. In a way, she was glad she had Christopher. He gave her something to focus on, a mission to help that made it easier on herself.  
“Tell me what you’re going to do when you find Buck, Christopher,” she requested. She needed his sweet little voice if she was going to make it through the dark streets.  
“The first thing we’re going to do is win another bear. My Buck promised me that we could use it as a pillow in a blanket fort tonight…”. As they walked through the streets, more and more people joined them. Somewhere in the crowd she’d lost Hector and Alex, and it made her feel more alone, even though she didn’t even really know them.  
“…and my dad’s favorite movie is Toy Store so we’re gonna watch that first…”, even though she felt alone and was sure she looked it, people kept coming up to her for guidance, asking her for directions, asking her if she had seen their loved ones. All she could do was point them towards the VA hospital.  
“…and Buck is going to make us popcorn while we watch it because he makes the best popcorn in the whole world. He says it’s because he puts a secret ingredient in. He told me not to tell anyone but its love. And it tastes so good because he loves me.” Christopher trailed off. “Are we almost there, Gabriela?”  
“Sí, mijo. We’re almost there”. In the distance, she can hear what sounded like tires screeching. Tires meant people, people who could transport them the rest of the way.  
Two mail trucks slammed on the breaks in front of them, their headlights bright on her face. Even if they can’t help, Gabriela can’t stop walking. She’s afraid that if she stops walking, she’ll never get going again, and Christopher needs her. When the firefighters in the trucks offer them a ride to the VA hospital, she almost collapses down with relief. Someone else to be in charge, someone who can help her get Christopher to safety. He seems to be asleep again, and she’s so tired the mail truck looks like a haven. Christopher stirs as the Asian firefighter with the nice face helps them climb into the packed trucks for a ride to triage center. She means to ask one of them about Buck but she gets distracted by Christopher rubbing his cold nose into her neck as she situates herself in the truck. She figures she can find someone at the VA hospital to help her find Christopher’s dad, so she settles in for the ride.  
They end up at the back of the truck, near the driver’s seat, and it takes them a while to climb out of the truck. Gabriela rubs Christopher’s back, bringing him out of the doze that he had fallen into. “We’re finally here, mijo. Time to find Buck.”  
As they climb out of the truck, Gabriela resettles Christopher in her arms. One last final push to find Buck. She doesn’t even know where to begin, is looking around for someone in charge when she hears a man calling out Christopher’s name. When she sees him, the firefighter seems upset, but she can still see the resemblance to Christopher. He has the same sweet brown eyes as his son. She can tell that this is his father, in the way that he immediately recognizes his son, and the utter relief that floods his body and his voice when he sees Christopher.  
Christopher’s father runs over, scooping Christopher out of her arms and kneeling, hugging his son tightly and kissing his forehead with tears in his eyes. He can’t stop thanking her. She had been worried that when she found his dad, when she handed him over, she would feel a loss of responsibility, of missing her purpose and her focus. But all she feels is a profound sense of relief. She was able to give them this.  
“You’re Buck?” she asks. She has to be sure. After so long with Christopher, she can’t just leave him here without knowing for sure.  
“No, I’m his father, Eddie.” the man replied, clearly more focused on Christopher than on her.  
“He was looking for Buck.” She’s surprised, but this is obviously his father, and she figures Eddie can find Buck for Christopher. Given how much Christopher obviously loves Buck, she feels that Eddie probably knows him well. She follows his gaze to a small group standing under a tent nearby, just as a man wearing a dirty white tee shirt collapses onto the cot behind him, the firefighters around him supporting him. The pure relief in his eyes as he looks at Christopher tells her everything she needs to know. They’ll be okay. They don’t need her here for this reunion.

Gabriela is surprised a few weeks later when she gets a call from an unknown number on her cell phone. She isn’t expecting any calls today, but she answers it anyway.  
“Hello? Is this Gabriela? This is Eddie Diaz, Christopher’s father.”  
She smiles into the phone. “Hola Eddie. This is Gabriela.”  
“Hola Gabriela! Listen, I’m sorry for calling out of the blue like this,” Eddie says. “But Christopher would love to see you again. He can’t stop talking about the wonderful lady who saved him. Plus, I would be happy to return your sweatshirt. It’s even freshly washed.”  
Apparently, the Diaz family has the effect of making Gabriela smile with little effort. “It’s no problem, Eddie. I don’t need the sweatshirt. But I would love to see el niño again. He’s a sweet child.”  
“I’m not going to argue with you there, Gabriela,” Eddie laughed. “Where’s the best place to meet you? Would you like to go for lunch?”

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon that Eddie has off from work, they go for tacos at a small restaurant, which Eddie insisted on paying for. Afterwards, Eddie and Gabriela settle onto a bench at a playground to watch Christopher play.  
“I know I said this before, Gabriela, pero gracias. I can’t thank you enough. You saved my son, and you cared for him, and he’s okay because of you,” Eddie says. His earnest eyes make her feel warm.  
“I’m not sure I get all the credit,” Gabriela smiles. “I’m pretty sure Buck gets at least some of it.” She nods to where he stands below the slide, ready to catch Christopher at the bottom, the two of the laughing. She’d been introduced to the famous Buck at lunch. He’d immediately charmed her with his rakish birthmark and welcoming hug. “All Chris could talk about when we were together was how his Buck and his dad were going to save him, the way he talks about you two – you guys are definitely his heroes.”  
“Christopher is very lucky to have Buck. So am I, if I’m honest,” Eddie says, his voice soft and warm.  
“I think whatever happens, neither of you Diaz men are alone,” she tells him, melting at the sight Eddie makes, watching his boys. She turns to look, just as Buck and Christopher wave at them from the top of the slide. “I think you guys are going to be okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


End file.
